STATE OF PLAY: DEMS LOSE HOUSE, HOLD SENATE – A Republican tsunami flips the House red (60 GOP pickups so far by PULSE’s count) but leaves the Senate in Democrats’ hands (three seats still up for grabs: AK, CO, WA). Bad night for Democrats and their signature legislative accomplishment: health reform’s biggest boosters fell while a dozen House Democrats who opposed the law eked out wins. Arizona and Oklahoma passed ballot initiatives pushing back against the individual mandate but a similar Colorado measure failed. Exit polls show health reform as the second-most important issue for voters after the economy.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR REFORM – Hotter rhetoric and a whole lot more repeal votes. More oversight – as one GOP member recently suggested to POLITICO, Sebelius should just as well get her own parking spot outside of Rayburn – but not many practical changes.

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Good Wednesday Morning. “I wanna make my own decisions, when it has to do with my Pulse, I wanna be the one in control.”

PULSE stayed up through the night (thank you, Rosslyn and Chinatown Starbucks) to bring you the latest on midterm elections.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1) At least 12 of the 34 Democrats who opposed the law survived Tuesday night. One race, Chandler in Kentucky, was still too close to call at 5 a.m. this morning.

2) Three of the five Democrats who flipped to oppose the Senate version of the health law lost their races. Lynch (Mass.-09) and Lipinski (Ill.-03) survived. Three others retired.

3) Sen. Russ Feingold and Rep. Earl Pomeroy lose after becoming known as the rare Democrats campaigning on pro-reform votes.

4) All five of the Democrats who flipped to support the Senate version of the health law lost their races. Two others retired and Republicans took their seats.

REFORM OPPOSITION SAVES A FEW… Voting against the health care law may have saved a few moderate House Democrats who managed to survive an overwhelming Republican wave Tuesday night. Reps. Jason Altmire (D-Penn.), Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) and Mike Ross (D-Ark.) are among the 12 Democrats who opposed the bill and survived in a midterm election in which voters identified health care as their second most important issue. The POLITICO story http://politi.co/dmThhm

…NOT EVERYONE —Well over half of the 34 Democrats who bucked their party in March still lost their races Tuesday night. Reps. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), Glenn Nye (D-Va.), Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) and Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) all campaigned on their opposition to the law but still lost their reelection attempts Tuesday. Only a few moderate Democrats who supported the law survived, including Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio).

THE YEAS DON’T HAVE IT – Democrats who bucked CW and ran on health reform saw dismal returns, most notably three-term liberal stalwart Russ Feingold who fell to Ron Johnson. Earl Pomeroy (N.D.) and Scott Murphy (N.Y.) both lost traditionally conservative districts after running pro-reform ads. Also notable on this front: Much-watched Democratic freshman Tom Perriello loses a conservative Virginia district after holding party line on reform and despite a last minute POTUS visit. One exception: Steve Israel in New York handily won his district after running the first pro-reform ad that PULSE spotted.

CANTOR SAYS IT’S A MANDATE FOR REPEAL - “Tonight’s election is about listening to the people and that was the message that’s being sent across this land is they don’t like this health care bill, and they want to see us focus on jobs, and there’s just been no results that match the expectations of the people,” Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who is poised to become House Majority Leader, told CBS News late Tuesday night. “So I believe that when we take majority in January, I hope that we’re able to put a repeal bill on the floor right away because that’s what the American people want. They understand that this bill is going to bankrupt this country and take away the health care that they – most people in this country – know and like.”

HEALTH BRINGS DOWN PELOSI? That’s what POLITICO’s John Bresnahan hears from smart observers like Ron Peters, who authored a book on soon-to-be-demoted Speaker. Peters tells Bresnahan, “In the end, I think that attention will focus on the health care bill and her key role in insisting that they go for the whole thing against Rahm Emanuel's recommendation that they back off and take a smaller piece. She was credited with a great historic legislative achievement, and I share that view. But health care is the one issue that most gathered public attention around the notion that the government had overreached.” Full story http://politi.co/bZiB62

SBA LIST: “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” - Five of the six pro-life Democratic targets in their $3.4 million “Votes Have Consequences” either lost or retired by Tuesday night’s end. Steve Driehaus (Ohio-1) and Kathy Dahlkemper (Pa.-03) lost bids for reelection while Brad Ellsworth failed in his Indiana Senate race. With Alan Mollohan (W. Va.-01) ousted in his primary and Bart Stupak retired (Mich.-01), that left Joe Donnelly (Ind.-02) as the sole survivor of the television, radio and bus tour assault.

PULSE tracked down SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser at Morton’s, where her group was camped out for the night. “Hands down we accomplished the overall goal,” she told us. “We flexed the muscles of the pro-life movement. This started more than a year ago when we were targeting these districts to strengthen pro-life Democrats’ resolve. When they caved, our mission had to change.”

--WHAT ABOUT THE SURVIVORS? This campaign cycle was vicious in pitting SBA List against liberal pro-life groups, like Catholics United and Democrats for Life, which fought ardently to defend health reform supporters. Moving forward though, Dannenfelser believes her group can still work with Democrats who supported reform on the next important piece of legislation, which will likely be an attempt to make the Hyde Amendment permanent. “They may not be excited to meet again, but certainly will realize there are consequences” to voting against the pro-life lobby, Dannenfelser tells us.

WHY ONE HEALTH OPT-OUT BALLOT FAILED – Colorado looks set to reject a ballot initiative to opt-out of health reform’s individual mandate, a measure that voters in Missouri, and now Arizona and Oklahoma, have resoundingly supported. Mike Krause, campaign coordinator for Colorado’s Amendment 63, chalked their loss up to going up against strong liberal organization and tight campaign races. While Arizona and Oklahoma had longtime Republican Senators, John McCain and Tom Coburn, to help solidify support, Colorado had a tight race between incumbent Democrat Michael Bennett and challenger Ken Buck. “Democrats and the left have built a very impressive capacity to get out the vote that flipped the state blue in 2008,” Krause told POLITICO. “I think that capacity, which is quite impressive, is still in place.” Full Story http://politi.co/dar9CX

Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin have all been supportive of reform in the past but will soon be led by Republicans who – in varying degrees – don’t really like the law. Kaiser Health News write-up http://bit.ly/cnV8xA

** A message from PhRMA: Diabetes is a complex disease affecting more than 30 million Americans – with one-in-ten living in DC, Maryland and Virginia having the disease. Thanks to advances in diabetes care, patients around the country are living longer, healthier lives. Take five-year-old Rhys for example [link to his I’m Not Average profile]. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 15-months-old, but today, he is a thriving young boy. This is due in large part to new and innovative medicines developed by researchers and scientists at America’s biopharmaceutical companies. Learn more about the medicines in development for diabetes here. **

Authors:

About The Author

Jennifer Haberkorn is a senior health care reporter for POLITICO Pro. She’s covered the Affordable Care Act since it was being debated in Congress in 2009. Since then, she has written about the law from Capitol Hill, the federal agencies, the courts and outside the Beltway.

Before arriving at POLITICO, Haberkorn covered Congress and local business news for The Washington Times. Her work has also appeared in Health Affairs and The New Republic.

Haberkorn is a graduate of Marquette University, where she majored in journalism and served as editor of The Marquette Tribune.

About The Author

Sarah Kliff is a health care reporter for POLITICO Pro. As a writer for POLITICO, she has covered how federal regulation, Congress and lobbying affect the implementation of health care reform. She previously co-authored Pulse, a daily health policy briefing.

Prior to joining POLITICO, Kliff was a staff writer at Newsweek, where she covered issues at the intersection of health and politics. She also covered the 2008 election, traveling with Joe Biden and contributing reports to multiple Newsweek cover stories. She has also written for National Geographic, St. Louis Magazine and Humanities magazine.

Kliff attended Washington University in St. Louis, where she was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, Student Life. She grew up in Seattle and Toronto, cities that have left her a big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and coffee.